John gustaf adolf rhodin



J. G. A. RHUDIN. ELECTROLYTIG APPARATUS.

(Application filed Aug. 11, 1897.)

Patented Aug. 2, i898.

(no Model.)

UNITED STATES' PATENT OFFICE.

JOHNGrUSTAF ADOLF RI-IODIN, OF ECCLES, ENGLAND.

ELECTROLYTIC APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming` part 'of Letters Patent No. 608,300, dated August2, 1898. Application filed August 1l, 1897. Serial No. 647,914. (Nomodel.)A Patented in England September 29, 1896, No. 2l,509.

To @ZZ Loh/omet may concern.'

Be it known that I, JOHN GUSTAF ADOLF RHODIN, a subject of the King ofSweden and Norway, and a resi-dent of 104 Gilda Brook road, Eccles, nearManchester, in the county of Lancaster, England, have invented certainnew and useful Improvements in Electrolytic Apparatus, (for which I haveobtained a pat- In constructing myvimproved apparatus I employ acylindrical or other suitably-shaped vessel, of earthenware or othersuitable material, with a flat base and open top. On

the-inside of the bottom I form radial or other ribs or projections.Inside and concentric with this vessel I fit a secondcvessel, ofearthenware or other suitable material, in the bottom of which areformed a series of tubes or hollow projections, in which are fitted acorresponding series of carbon rods, all in metallic contact with thepositive pole of a dynamo or other source of electricity. The tubes onthe bottom of the second vessel project into a layer of mercury coveringthe bottom of the iirst vessel and in metallic contact with the negativepole of a dynamo or other source of electricity. A quantity of water orother suitable liquid is placed on the mercury in the first vessel, andin the interior of the second vessel is placed a suitable electrolyte,such as a solution of chlorid of sodium or nitrate of sodium, &c. |Thesecond vessel Iis closed by a cover which is fastened to it and may beprovided with an outlet pipe or passage, through which gases liberatedduring the electrolysis might escape. The second vessel is fitted andprovided with means whereby it may be rotated.

In the accompanying two sheets of drawings, Figure lis a transversevertical section of the improved'apparatus. Fig. 2 is a sectional plantaken on the line C D, Fig. 1; and Filg. 3, a plan of the bottom of theouter vesse In the drawings, a designates the outer cylindrical or othersuitablyshaped vessel,

which I prefer to make of iron, and b is the inner concentric vessel,which I prefer to make of earthenware. The bottom of the vessel c,asshown in plan in Fig. 3, is provided With radial or other ribs orprojections c, Figs. 1 and 3, and the bottom of the vessel b, as shownin Fig. 2, opens out into a series of, hollow projections or tubes f ofany suitable section. The top of the vessel b is closed by asuitably-shaped lid'or cover, which may be made in one piece with thevessel, as shown, in Fig. 1, or may be a separate part secured thereto.rThrough holes in this lid I fit a series of carbon rods or othersuitably-shaped carbons or anodes of other material g, which theabove-mentioned hollow proj ectionsf, yet without coming in contact witha layer of mercury d, which seals the openings of the hollow projectionswhen the apparatus is put together. These carbons or anodes are put inmetallic contact with one another by suitable mea'ns-#such as, forinstance, by casting a layer of lead h into an annular space formed bythe lid and into which the ends of the carbons'or anodes project. vThecombined anodes might conveniently be brought into metallic contact witha ring of metal e,which surrounds a tube q, into which the lid of thevessel b may be suitably prolonged. The metal ring Z may then, by meansof a metallic brushm, be put in contact with the positive pole of adynamo or other source of an elec- Vtric current.'

The above-mentioned hollow projections or tubes f project into a layerof mercury d, which seals the inner part of the vessel b from connectionwith that part of the outer vessel c which is not occupied. by the innervessel b.' On the top of the mercury and filling this lastmentioned partof the vessel a is a layer vof water or other suitable-liquidi?.

dit closely into these holes and project into IOO q maybe connected witha system of gas-conducting tubes by means of a liquid seal or joint la.\Vhen the first vessel a is made of iron, which is the preferredmaterial, the

layer of mercury is made into the cathodev simply by connecting thevessel a with the negative pole of the above-mentioned source ofelectric current.

In operation, when the electric current is owing the second vessel l) isslowly rotated, during which operation the projections f agitate thelayer of mercury d, which, however, is prevented from revolving by theribs or projections c. The amalgam formed at the bottom of theprojectionsfis then mixed up with the main bulk of the mercury,principally by these projections sliding over the mereurial surface andby the diffusing action between the mercury and the amalgam and bytheinternal movement set up bythe movement of the projections. The amalgamis thus brought into contact and reaction with the supernatant water orother liquid p, whereby a commercial product is formed and more or lessdepolarization is caused, and the mercury is enabled to dissolve more ofthe cation and so on in a continuous process. The anion separated outinside the vessel b may eventually be conducted through the pipe q and asystem of tubes into other chemical apparatus or, if of no value, may beallowed to escape.

The apparatus as described may, as a consequence of its construction,have heat applied to it with advantage, either internally or externally,either with the object of diminishing electrical resistance orfacilitating certain chemical reactions or for distilling certainchemical compounds out of the vessel Z) into a system of condensers.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of mysaidinvention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare thatwhat I claim, and desire to sccure by Letters Patent of the UnitedStates, is*

l. An apparatus for the electrolysis of solutions of salts comprising avessel o, having a corrugated or ribbed bottom and containing a mercurycathode, a rotating vessel?) arranged within said vessel a, a pluralityof tubular projections depending from the lower side of said vessel b,and projecting into the layer of mercury contained in the outer vesseland a series of anodes extending down into the tubular projections butwithout coming into contact with the layer of mercury, substantially asdescribed.

2. In combination, the outer vessel cl., having a ribbed or corrugatedbottom, the rotating vessel I) within the same, a plurality of tubularprojections depending from the bottom of said inner receptacle anddipping into a mercury cathode, a series of anodes extending through theupper transverse wall of the vessel i) with their lowci` ends dependinginto the tubular projections, and a suitable conducting substanceencircling the upper ends of the anodes above the said transverse wall,substantially as described.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of twowitnesses.

JOHN GUSTAF ADOlrlf IUIODIN. lVitnesses:

II. l. BARLow, S. W. GILLE'r'r.

